The NWSL season heads down the stretch this weekend, with the standings tightly packed and the playoffs less than two months away.

The Kansas City Current are nearing a point where they would clinch the NWSL Shield, given to the league’s regular-season champions, with Saturday holding arguably the biggest test left on their remaining schedule. The second-place Washington Spirit visit CPKC Stadium coming off arguably their most complete performance of 2025, a 2-0 win over the Seattle Reign that saw Trinity Rodman score twice.

That may be the obvious game of the week, but there’s an argument that the real drama is further down the standings. The Seattle Reign host Racing Louisville in a match between the teams occupying the final two playoff places at the moment, and both sides — having entered the league’s summer break in good form — have gone 1W-3D-2L since the start of August. With the Houston Dash picking up 12 points in that span, the pressure is rapidly increasing on either side of the playoff line.

Here’s a look at this weekend’s NWSL games, as well as a breakdown of the playoff picture:

NWSL Matchday 20: What are this weekend’s games?

All times Eastern. Home teams listed first.

Friday, Sept. 12

San Diego Wave vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC, 10 p.m. | Prime Video

Watch San Diego Wave vs. Gotham FC on Prime Video

Saturday, Sept. 13

North Carolina Courage vs. Angel City FC, 12:30 p.m. | CBS
Orlando Pride vs. Bay FC, 5 p.m. | Ion
Kansas City Current vs. Washington Spirit, 7:30 p.m. | Ion

Sunday, Sept. 14

Chicago Stars vs. Portland Thorns, 3 p.m. | Paramount+, NWSL+
Utah Royals vs. Houston Dash, 6 p.m. | Paramount+, NWSL+
Seattle Reign vs. Racing Louisville, 8 p.m. | Paramount+, NWSL+

Watch Sunday’s NWSL action on Paramount+

NWSL playoffs format explained

The NWSL playoffs will see eight teams qualify, with an easy-to-follow format in place. In the quarterfinal round, the top four teams in the regular season standings will host the other four teams that qualify for the postseason.

The four winning teams move onto the semifinals, with the higher-seeded team on each side of the bracket hosting. The NWSL playoffs do not re-seed after the quarterfinals. Finally, the two surviving teams will play in the 2025 NWSL Championship final.

All games will follow the norms of the sport: If scores are tied after 90 minutes, a given playoff game will go to a 30-minute extra time period (divided into 15-minute halves, with no ‘golden goal’ rule). Should the scores still be even after that, the teams will endure the tension of a penalty-kick tiebreaker.

What is the NWSL playoff schedule?

The NWSL regular season will end on Sunday, Nov. 2, with all 14 teams playing. After that, the postseason will play out on the following schedule:

Nov. 7-9: Quarterfinals
Nov. 14-16: Semifinals
Nov. 22: NWSL Championship

NWSL playoff picture: If the season ended today …

We’re a long way from settling the NWSL playoff bracket, but if the postseason began today, this is what we’d see:

Home teams listed first.

Quarterfinals

Quarterfinal 1: Kansas City Current (1) vs. Racing Louisville (8)
Quarterfinal 2: Washington Spirit (2) vs. Seattle Reign (7)
Quarterfinal 3: San Diego Wave (3) vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC (6)
Quarterfinal 4: Portland Thorns (4) vs. Orlando Pride (5)

Semifinals

Semifinal 1: Quarterfinal 1 winner vs. Quarterfinal 4 winner (higher seed hosts)
Semifinal 2: Quarterfinal 2 winner vs. Quarterfinal 3 winner (higher seed hosts)

Final

Final: Semifinal 1 winner vs. Semifinal 2 winner (final at PayPal Park in San Jose, California)

Who has clinched an NWSL playoff spot?

Only one team can 100% guarantee that they’ll be in the NWSL playoffs. The Kansas City Current, running away from the pack, clinched their spot on Aug. 30 after a 2-0 win over the North Carolina Courage.

The Current, who have 49 points, are so far out in front that — thanks to the San Diego Wave still having matches to play against the Portland Thorns and Orlando Pride — they are sure of a top-four finish, which guarantees Kansas City a home playoff game.

With a single win down the stretch, or a loss at any point by the San Diego Wave, the Current will clinch the right to host a semifinal match as well (should they advance out of the quarterfinal round).

2025 NWSL Playoffs: Who has been eliminated from contention?

In grand NWSL tradition, every single team is still alive in the playoff race. Chicago, in 13th place, hasn’t lost in six matches, and bottom-of-the-table Utah is on a similar four-game run. With those two teams getting points and the middle of the table pure chaos of late, no one can be eliminated during this weekend’s games.

Green Bay improved to 2-0 with another impressive win over a 2024 playoff team.
QB Jordan Love and DE Micah Parsons, the leaders of the Pack, both served up strong performances Thursday night.
Washington fell to 1-1, and a struggling offense may have lost a key member to a serious injury.

Thursday seemingly served up a prime NFL matchup – literally, the Washington Commanders and Green Bay Packers kicking off Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football” lineup at Lambeau Field while ushering in Week 2 of the league’s 2025 season.

And while a meeting of 2024 wild-card squads wasn’t as crisp as cord-cutters would want, it also wasn’t short on star power, highlights or lowlights. The Pack improved to 2-0 after emerging with a 27-18 triumph, though the game wasn’t as close as the score indicates.

Still, plenty of compelling subplots and vignettes – which provided enough fodder for a breakdown of “TNF” winners and losers:

WINNERS

Jordan Love and Packers offense

It’s not even firing on all cylinders, but the third-year QB1 and Co. look like a machine that could – and maybe should – produce some championship cheese over the next five months. Four days after taking out the reigning NFC North champion Detroit Lions 27-13, Green Bay averaged 6.4 yards per play, Love passing for 292 yards and two TDs and needing just 19 completions to do so. The Pack’s first two touchdown drives covered at least 90 yards. There are penalty problems that need ironing out, but the unit was also without injured OL Zach Tom and Aaron Banks.

Josh Jacobs

He extended his Packers club record to 11 consecutive games, including playoffs, with a touchdown. Jacobs can break the league record, held by Hall of Famer John Riggins – coincidentally, he set it with Washington over the 1982 and ’83 seasons – if he can keep this heater going for another five games. Jacobs rushed for 84 yards against the Commanders.

Micah Parsons

Two games, two wins, 1½ sacks, a seemingly larger role Thursday − when he had eight pressures − and now a mini bye to rest his back ahead of road games at Cleveland and what will be his hyper-hyped return to Dallas.

Sterling Sharpe

The recently enshrined Pro Football Hall of Famer, who spent all seven of his sterling NFL seasons with the Packers, saw his name added to Lambeau’s façade. Had Sharpe not injured his neck, he would’ve been a shoo-in for 1,000 career receptions – maybe even 1,200, rarefied air for the league’ all-time top five.

The uprights

Packers K Brandon McManus was rejected by the left upright on a 48-yard field-goal attempt right before halftime. The Commanders’ Matt Gay hit the right upright – no good – from 52 yards to start the second half. All told, chalk up two for the posts while the kickers combined to miss three FGs.

LOSERS

Jayden Daniels and Commanders offense

No reason to panic with a 1-1 record. But the 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year and his charges have looked a bit disjointed through two weeks and managed just 230 yards against Green Bay, the lowest output since Daniels was drafted. Worse, veteran RB Austin Ekeler appeared to suffer a serious Achilles injury in the fourth quarter that seems likely to make the team rue its decision to trade former starter Brian Robinson Jr. to the San Francisco 49ers last month. Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt is a promising rookie but hardly seems up to the task of being a three-down workhorse at this stage. Daniels, who was also sacked four times, Ekeler and Croskey-Merritt rushed for 17 yards apiece.

Jerry Jones

As Parsons was serenaded with ‘Thank you, Jerry’ chants following the win, it’s starting to increasingly look as if the Cowboys owner may never live down a blockbuster trade that seemed borne of stubbornness on both sides − but mostly Jones’. Said Parson, still fueled by plenty of motivation despite landing a four-year, $186 million contract from Green Bay, on the ‘TNF’ post-game set: ‘I’m pissed off.’ Packers-Cowboys, Week 4.

Terry McLaurin

After briefly holding out of training camp, then holding in for most of the summer while awaiting a three-year contract extension, Washington’s longtime captain has yet to earn his money. In fairness, McLaurin is coming back from a bum ankle, yet he was back on the practice field as soon as he got paid late last month. After catching two passes for 27 yards in Week 1, he had just five inconsequential receptions for 48 yards Thursday.

Matthew Golden

Another receiver who has yet to make an impact, though Golden should get a grace period. The first Packers wideout drafted in the first round in 23 years, the rookie was only targeted twice Thursday, but Love couldn’t hook up with him. Golden caught two balls for 16 yards in the opener but seems headed for a larger role after Jayden Reed broke his collarbone.

Josh Conerly Jr.

Washington’s 2025 first-rounder is also struggling. In Conerly’s defense, he’s only 21 and making the transition from left tackle at Oregon to the right side in the NFL. After getting consistently beaten in Week 1 by the New York Giants, he was abused by Parsons. No real shame in that, but Conerly’s troubles are another aspect of the Commanders’ sputtering offense.

Uniform variants

After debuting their mostly white “Winter Warning” uniforms last season, the Pack broke them out anew … Sept. 11 … 11 days before … the first day of autumn. I’m all for uniform variety – as generally boring as Pack Bridezilla is – but can we at least be sensible about the usage? This strays into the territory of the Indianapolis Colts’ wearing their “Indiana Nights” at 1 p.m. ET on a Sunday (not kidding).

The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox begin a crucial three-game series at Fenway Park with the rivals jockeying for the American League’s top wild-card spot while trying to chase down the Toronto Blue Jays atop the AL East.

Entering Friday’s game, Toronto has a three-game lead over the Yankees, whose 81-65 record is a half-game better than Boston at 81-66. But the Red Sox (8-2 against the Yankees) have already clinched the head-to-head tiebreaker against New York, giving them the edge should the teams be tied after 162 games.

Luis Gil (3-1, 3.31 ERA) starts for the Yankees, while Lucas Giolito (10-3, 3.38 ERA) takes the mound for the hosts in Boston. In his past 15 starts, the 31-year-old Giolito is 8-2 with a 2.48 ERA.

Here’s what to know for Friday’s game at Fenway:

Where to watch Red Sox vs Yankees

Friday night’s game will stream on Apple TV+ with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET.

Watch Yankees vs. Red Sox on Apple TV+

What time is Yankees vs. Red Sox game?

Friday’s game at Fenway Park begins at 7:10 p.m. ET.

HOUSTON — Colorado football coach Deion Sanders is set to start a new quarterback in Friday’s game at Houston – a redshirt sophomore who was listed as the team’s third-string QB less than a week ago.

But it’s not because Colorado’s other two top quarterbacks played poorly or got injured.

Sanders instead is going off of his gut – and what he saw in last week’s 31-7 win against Delaware, when he gave a tryout of sorts to Ryan Staub, then the third-string QB. Staub entered the game with 45 seconds left in the first half and the Buffaloes leading 10-7. By the time he left the game in the second half, the Buffs were up 31-7 after Staub threw touchdown passes of 21 and 71 yards.

Staub played like a gunslinger with a killer instinct, outplaying Colorado’s previous starter, Kaidon Salter, and the previous No. 2 quarterback, freshman Julian Lewis.

Though Sanders declined to confirm this week that Staub would start tonight against Houston (2-0) tonight for Colorado (1-1), several signs and statements indicate he will. It could be his big chance.

Follow along here for updates, news and highlights from the Colorado vs. Houston matchup:

When is Colorado vs Houston game?

Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 12 from TDECU Stadium in Houston.

How to watch Colorado vs Houston

The game will be televised on ESPN and also is available on Fubo.

Watch Colorado vs. Houston on Fubo with a free trial

Colorado vs Houston odds

College football odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook; Odds updated Sept. 11. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.

Spread: Houston (-4.5)
Moneyline: Houston (-200), Colorado (+165)
Total: 45.5 points

Announcers for Colorado vs Houston

ESPN play-by-play broadcaster Anish Shroff will call the game along with former Houston quarterback Andre Ware, the 1989 Heisman Trophy winner. They will be joined by sideline reporter Paul Carcaterra.

Colorado injury update

Wide receiver Omarion Miller is expected to be out a second consecutive game with a hamstring injury. Running back Dallan Hayden could make his season debut if he comes back from a hand injury.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

Ryan Staub, who started the season as Colorado’s third-string quarterback, is now poised to become the team’s new starter.
Former interim head coach Mike Sanford, who originally recruited Staub, believes he is the best quarterback on the roster.
Despite being overlooked in favor of a transfer and a top recruit, Staub chose to remain at Colorado and work for his chance.

A former University of Colorado interim football coach has been predicting this would happen for quite some time.

It’s kind of a crazy story: Ryan Staub, who started the season as the third-string quarterback at Colorado, is now on track to become the new No. 1 QB for Colorado under coach Deion Sanders. Staub might even run away with the job if he performs well in Colorado’s next game Friday at Houston.

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He’s that good, said Mike Sanford, who served as Colorado’s interim coach before Sanders was hired in December 2022. Sanford said he’s been “predicting this for kind of a while” based on his knowledge of Staub and how he stacks up against the other two top quarterbacks at Colorado.

“My take is he’s the best quarterback of the three, period, no matter how they got there,” Sanford said in an interview this week with USA TODAY Sports. “The world of football still comes down to a meritocracy, and whoever’s the best ultimately is going to have the opportunity to get out there and play.”

Sanford recruited Ryan Staub to Colorado before Deion Sanders

Sanford, now the coach at Valor Christian High in Colorado, has an admitted bias: He’s the coach who recruited Staub out of Southern California and helped persuade him to commit to Colorado about 10 months before Sanders arrived in Boulder. Sanford also counseled Staub after Sanders brought his son Shedeur with him to quarterback the Buffaloes in 2023 and 2024.

Sanford was let go by Colorado after the team finished 1-11 in 2022. But Staub stuck with his commitment and served as Shedeur’s backup in Sanders’ first two seasons at Colorado.

For those outside the program, this made Staub easy to overlook. He rarely played except for a 23-17 loss at Utah in the final game of 2023, when Shedeur sat out with a fractured back.

Then when Shedeur left for the NFL, Colorado installed two newcomers in front of Staub for 2025: Transfer Kaidon Salter, who led Liberty to a 13-1 season in 2023, and Julian “JuJu” Lewis, a four-star freshman recruit.

Sanford still believed. He just wasn’t sure Staub would get an opportunity.

“I didn’t know he’d get that chance, that legitimate chance, because his arrival to CU didn’t follow the narrative to CU that probably a lot of people want with the current CU program, which is a five-star (recruit) or major transfer who had been a really significant player,” Sanford said.

Deion Sanders gave him that chance last week in a 31-7 win at home against Delaware.

Ryan Staub’s unlikely shot under Deion Sanders

Colorado listed Staub as the No. 3 quarterback behind Salter and Lewis before both of the team’s games this season. Salter was the only quarterback who played in the season opener against Georgia Tech, a 27-20 loss. After that, Sanders said Lewis would get his first college playing time against Delaware, which he did when he came off the bench for two drives in the second quarter, both of which ended in punts.

But then came the unexpected twist. As part of a tryout of sorts, Sanders put in Staub with 45 seconds in the first half, with the Buffs leading 10-7. Staub missed on his first two passes. But then he took over, completing a 31-yard pass and then a 21-yard touchdown pass with nine seconds left before halftime. Then on his team’s first drive after halftime, he hurled a third-down pass for a 71-yard touchdown. By the time he left the game, the Buffs were up 31-7 after he led them on three touchdown drives in four possessions.

“This is a real-life story that’s happening right before your eyes,” Deion Sanders said at a news conference Tuesday.

Sanders said his goal in the Delaware game was to give each quarterback two series initially and then “somebody was going to come out of the pack.”

Sanders wouldn’t confirm if Staub would start at Houston Friday but acknowledged Staub has been getting a majority of the practice reps this week. He also said after the game last week that he had made up his mind about his next move at quarterback. “I’m not lost for direction,” he said.

Ryan Staub’s origin story at Colorado

Staub played high school football at West Ranch High in Stevenson Ranch, California, north of Los Angeles. It’s close to Interstate 5 near Six Flags Magic Mountain and is situated in a “dang wind tunnel,” as Sanford remembers it when he visited him there as Colorado’s offensive coordinator under then-head coach Karl Dorrell.

“I went out there to watch him throw,” Sanford said. “He was sweet, man, really, really good throwing session, did not miss throws. … I was super impressed that here’s a guy who’s not super tall (6-foot-1) and doesn’t have massive hands, and he just consistently was just piercing into headwinds, piercing it and throwing super accurate passes to two or three of his high school receivers. He just didn’t miss.”

Staub wasn’t highly recruited but got some scholarship offers, including from Arizona before committing to Colorado. He led his high school team to a 19-4 record as a starter and had 5,422 yards passing along with 687 yards rushing on 66 carries. Besides his throwing ability, Sanford admired his humble but confident character and marveled at his running ability.

‘I was shocked at how he was willing to put his face in the fan and get physical,’ Sanford said.

Staub then waited his turn at Colorado even though it didn’t look like it would ever come.

He could have transferred for a better chance elsewhere but didn’t. Why not?

“To be honest, I don’t know,” Staub said after the Delaware game. “I kind of fell in love with the process. I really enjoyed being here. I enjoyed being in this building under our coach. … I didn’t really know where I was at. I stuck my head down and just decided to keep working. And I got rewarded for that.”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

CHICAGO — Another title, or at least a third consecutive trip to the WNBA Finals, seemed to be a given as the New York Liberty opened the season with nine straight wins, most of them decisive.

And then the injuries piled up.

Jonquel Jones missed almost two weeks with a sprained ankle. And then another month when she aggravated the injury. Breanna Stewart missed a month with a bone bruise. Natasha Cloud missed a game after breaking her nose. Sabrina Ionescu just returned Tuesday after missing four games with a toe injury. Nyara Sabally has played only 17 games this season because of knee issues.

Put it all together, and this week was the first time since late May the defending champions have had their full squad available. The Liberty head into the playoffs with their starting lineup having played 12 full games together.

“I’ve been in this league for quite some time as a player and a coach, and I don’t think I’ve ever been in this situation with so many players in and out. Especially your key players,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said before Thursday night’s regular-season finale against the Chicago Sky.

“I’m confident in this team when we’re full,” Brondello added. “I think we’ve shown that when we’ve had a full team that we can beat anyone, but we still have to play really good basketball.”

If there’s a team built to weather a season like this, it’s the Liberty. Though they are the No. 5 seed in the playoffs and have to go on the road to start their best-of-three series against Phoenix, there’s no one in the WNBA that is going to take New York lightly.

Not if they’re smart, that is.

The Liberty returned four starters from the team that won the WNBA title last year, while adding Cloud to the starting lineup. That means all five of New York’s starters have won at least one WNBA title.

The depth beyond the starting five is scary-good, too. Sabally and Kennedy Burke were on New York’s team last year. Marine Johanes, who gets significant minutes off the bench, was part of the France team that won the silver medal at last year’s Paris Olympics.

And the Liberty got a late-season boost when they added Emma Meesseman last month after she led Belgium to the EuroBasket title. Meesseman, who played with Cloud on Washington’s 2019 title team, has scored in double figures in all but three of her 17 games with New York.

“We have a locker room that really understands what it takes to go long and to win a championship,” Jones said.

“Experience is, ultimately, the name of the game and having pros invested who have been here before,” she added. “I don’t know if I can necessarily put it into words, but more experienced teams tend to do really well.”

The Liberty lost in the WNBA Finals in 2023, to the Las Vegas Aces. Don’t discount that experience, either, Ionescu said.

“We know what it takes to win, we know what it takes to lose,” she said. “I think that just helps.”

With New York’s playoff seed locked and the Sky limping to the end of yet another dismal season, Brondello used Thursday night’s game as a chance to build chemistry. Give the starters quality minutes together and get everyone some time on the floor.

The starters all played 19 minutes or more, with Ionescu going the longest at 26 minutes. Brondello cleared her bench late in the third quarter, and every Liberty player got at least 10 minutes.

“I will say, where we are now with a healthy team, we’re going to be so much better in the postseason because of all that adversity that we hit in the middle of the season,” Cloud said. “I’m a big, firm believer in the adversity along the way shapes you for your purpose.”

Even if it didn’t, the Liberty didn’t have much choice in the matter. Injuries are a fact of life in sports, unfortunate as they may be, and teams don’t get to choose when they happen.

All you can do is weather the storm the best you can.

“I don’t think anything can really prepare you for the year that we had,’ Ionescu said. ‘You can kind of use it one or two ways: As an excuse to not come out and compete and just kind of let that be what the year is going to look like, or you can use it to help you moving forward and equip you to better handle the adversity that’s to come. That’s the way that we’re looking at it.

“It’s going to tell a great story, no matter how it turns out to be.”

Best of all, after a season filled with adversity, every single member of the Liberty will have a hand in writing it.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

Week 2 of the NFL kicked off Thursday night with the Commanders and Packers squaring off. Green Bay controlled the game and came away with a 27-18 win.

Some of you may have wondered whether you should stream “Bill” Crosky-Merritt. Hopefully, you didn’t, as he finished with just four carries for 17 yards.

Streaming decisions early in the season are never easy. It’s tough to bench someone you drafted in the sixth round in favor of a player taken in the 10th or picked up off waivers. For the most part, that’s still fine. You drafted those players expecting them to carry you throughout the season. One or even two weeks shouldn’t change that mindset.

However, if you waited on quarterback or tight end, or if your flex is a weak spot, looking for streaming options is a smart move. With that in mind, here are 10 solid streamers for Week 2.

*Streamers are players who are rostered in 50% or less of Yahoo! leagues.

Fantasy Football Streamers for Week 2

Quarterbacks

Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

The Bengals limited Cleveland to 14.2 fantasy points in Week 1, but that was against the Browns’ offense. The Jaguars should produce more, especially with a stronger performance expected from both Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter.

Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders

Smith faces the Chargers, who just allowed 26 fantasy points to Patrick Mahomes, and that was without Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy.

If there’s one thing we know about Smith, it’s he likes to sling the ball. He has thrown for more than 4,000 yards in two of the last three seasons and was on pace to do it again in 2023 before missing two games. He opened 2025 strong, throwing for 362 yards in Week 1.

The Raiders are likely to be playing from behind against Los Angeles, which should force Smith into another high-volume passing day.

Running Backs

Just under the 50% rostered mark, Benson is in a prime spot this week. Even though he had four fewer carries than James Conner in Week 1, he outgained him 69-39 on the ground.

The matchup is even better. Carolina just gave up 143 rushing yards to Travis Etienne Jr. The Panthers’ run defense looks no better than last year, so both Conner and Benson could have strong outings.

Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs continue to use Hunt in a 50-50 split with Isiah Pacheco, even though the results have been mixed. That keeps Hunt in play as a sneaky value some weeks.

This could be one of them. Kansas City will still be without Rice and possibly Worthy. Even if Worthy suits up, he may not see his normal workload. That could shift the offensive focus toward the run game and give Hunt added usage as both a runner and receiver.

Wide Receivers

Kayshon Boutte, New England Patriots

Boutte’s Week 1 usage was encouraging. He ran the most routes for New England, tied for the team lead in targets, and posted a 17.4-yard average depth of target.

This week he faces Miami, which struggled badly against Daniel Jones and the Colts. If there’s a matchup for Boutte to repeat his Week 1 production, this is it.

Cedric Tillman, Cleveland Browns

Cleveland gets Baltimore, which just allowed 53.8 fantasy points to Buffalo’s wideouts. The Browns won’t put up those kinds of numbers, but the Ravens secondary is showing the same problems it had in 2024, when it allowed the second-most points to receivers.

Tillman’s usage in Week 1 was strong, and there’s no reason to expect a step back. Yes, Harold Fannin Jr. led the team in targets, but don’t count on that being the norm.

JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kansas City Chiefs

This is more of a deep-league option, but if Worthy is out, JuJu gets a significant boost.

He saw five targets in Week 1 and caught all of them, even while Marquise Brown commanded 14 targets. If Worthy misses the game, expect a more balanced target share with JuJu more involved.

Tight Ends

Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns

How can you not like what you saw from Fannin in Week 1? The overall touches may go down, now that defenses will know to look for him on the field, but it feels like the Browns want to find ways to get Fannin the ball.

You should want a tight end who is on the field and not relegated to just being a blocker as much as Fannin was in Week 1.

It’s hard not to like what we saw from Fannin in Week 1. His touches may dip now that defenses know what is coming, but the Browns clearly want to get him involved.

At tight end, you want someone on the field and running routes, not stuck blocking. Fannin checks that box.

Jonnu Smith, Pittsburgh Steelers

It shouldn’t have been a surprise that Smith emerged as Pittsburgh’s top pass-catching tight end, but many still doubted it on draft day. One week in, he out-snapped Pat Freiermuth and doubled his target total.

When streaming tight ends, target volume is king. Smith should continue to be the safer play.

Defense

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals draw Carolina, which turned the ball over three times and managed just 10 points against Jacksonville in Week 1.

Arizona fell short last week in what looked like a good spot against New Orleans, but that was a tough cross-country road trip. Back at home against a shaky Panthers offense, the Cardinals are a strong Week 2 streamer.

Appearing on ‘Fox & Friends,’ President Donald Trump discussed his visit to Yankee Stadium for the anniversary of 9/11 on Thursday, including his thoughts on Yankees star Aaron Judge, who has the ‘biggest forearms’ Trump has ever seen.

Trump took pictures in the Yankees’ clubhouse and addressed the team before the game, marveling at how big and muscular the 6-foot-7 Judge was in person, something he reiterated the morning after.

‘(Judge) is some strong guy. He had the biggest forearms – you know I’ve seen weightlifters – I’ve never seen arms this big,’ Trump told the Fox News hosts. ‘And he’s a fantastic person.’

Judge, the two-time AL MVP winner, hit two home runs in the Yankees’ 9-3 win over the Detroit Tigers in the Bronx.

‘The fans were really nice,’ Trump joked Friday. ‘You never know what you’re going to get in a New York ballpark.’

Trump, who was friends with late owner George Steinbrenner, said attending the game was like ‘old times’ and that the Steinbrenner family ‘has been fantastic with me.’